Noble Corporation Board Sets Schedule For Dividend Payment

LONDON, July 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Noble Corporation (NYSE: NE) today announced its Board of Directors has scheduled the payment of the Company's quarterly cash dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date for this payment is expected to be August 8, 2014, with a record date of August 12, 2014 and a payment date of August 22, 2014. The Company expects that this dividend will be treated as a qualified dividend for purposes of U.S. taxes.

About Noble Corporation Noble is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. Noble performs, through its subsidiaries, contract drilling services with a fleet of 77 offshore drilling units (including one ultra-deepwater drillship and two high-specification jackup drilling rigs currently under construction) located worldwide, including in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, Mexico, Brazil, the North Sea, the Mediterranean, West Africa, the Middle East, India, Malaysia, Argentina and Australia.

Following the spin-off of Paragon Offshore, Noble will own and operate one of the most modern, versatile and technically advanced fleets in the offshore drilling industry. The 35 rig fleet, consisting of 20 semisubmersibles and drillships and 15 jackups, are focused largely on ultra-deepwater and high-specification jackup drilling opportunities in many of the world's established and emerging regions. Noble's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "NE." Noble Corporation plc is a public limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 08354954 and registered office at Devonshire House, 1 Mayfair Place, London, W1J 8AJ England. Additional information on Noble Corporation is available on the Company's Web site at http://www.noblecorp.com.

Forward-looking disclosure statementThis news release may contain "forward-looking statements" about the business, financial performance and prospects of the Company. Statements about the Company's or management's plans, intentions, expectations, beliefs, estimates, predictions, or similar expressions for the future, including any statements regarding the payment of any dividend, the timing or amount of such payment, the anticipated tax treatment of any such payment, capital allocation strategy and anticipated returns, are forward-looking statements that involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. No assurance can be given that the outcomes of these forward-looking statements will be realized, and actual results could differ materially from those expressed as a result of various factors. A discussion of these factors, including risks and uncertainties, is set forth from time to time in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").